Feeler mechanism for looms.



H. W. YOUNGQUIST. FEHLER mncnmsm Foa Looms.

APPLICATION FILED AUO.5.19H.

Tur

Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

H. W. YOUNGQUIST.

FEHLER MECHANISM POR LOOMS.

APPLIorrxon rum Auo.5.1ex4.

1,122,838. Patented Dec. 29, 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

W'nesses. nvenor.

, Henry W.Youngqlu`\s, dwg 949,30 bwa/MMM Alb/S the usua HENRY W. YOUNGQUIST, 0F MANCHESTER, NEW HAMPSHIRE.

FEELER MECHANISM FOB LOOMS.

Application filed August 5, 1914.

To all whom it mail concern.'

Be it known that I, HENRY \V. YOUNG- Qiiis'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at li'Ianchester, county of Hillsboro, State of New Hampshire, have invented an Improvement in Feeler Meeliiinism for Looms, of which the following description, in c onnection with the accompanying drawing, is a specification, like characters on the drawing re resenting like parts.

he invention relates to improvements in feeler mechanism for automatic filling rcplenisliing looms and its principal object is to permit the adaptationof the u sual Northrop t 'pe of loom to filling carriers having slots in their barrels to receive the end of the feeler on substantial exhaustion of filling upon the filling carrier, thus avoiding .the necessity of using filling carriers having specially wound feeler bunches.

Another object of the invention is to provide a simple and effective feeling mechanism for looms constructed of relatively few elements and in such a manner that the same will work accurately and will be unlikely to become broken or damaged in use and if broken may be re aired easily.

Other objects o the invention and the nature thereof will more fully appeal' from qthe following description and accompanying drawin and wil be particularly pointe( out in t e annexed claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a plan view, centrally broken away, of a portion of an automatic replenishing loom embodying a preferred form of my invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the shi per stand, the feeler, and the controller w iich is actuated thereby to initiate the change in the o )eration of the loom, and Fig. 3 is a side e evation of my im iioved feeler and its stand detiiclied from tlie loom and looking from the center of F ig. 2. toward the right.

A preferred form of my invention is illustrated herein as applied to the usual Northrop type of filling replenishing looms, parts of which as illustrated in Fig. l comprise a lay 1, having shuttle boxes 2 and B at opposite ends of said lay, a shuttle ff containing a filling carrier f'i provided with ii feeler slot (l adjacent to its bai-'e` the side of the shuttle box bein provided with a slot 7 in iilinement witii slot (l in thi` bobbiii to receive the feelei' as the lay moves forward to beat up the fillin The shuttle box 3 passes beneat i fhopper or battery 8 and the loom Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 2i), 1914.

Serial No. 855,290.

is provided with a transfer arm i) adapted to be actuated in-the usual manner to insert a new filling carrier in an active shuttle through a controller shaft 10, extendiiiglongitudinally of the breast beam 11 and journiiled in suitiible bearings depending therefrom.

As illustrated herein the loom is provided with a weft fork l2 and the ordinary inecliiiuisiii actuated thereby to cause a stoppa e of the loom or to effect transfer of the fi ling carriers upon the breaking of the filling. Y

lhe usual shipper stand 13 is shown at the left end of the loom with a slot l-t to receive the shi per 15 and the knock-ofi' lever lo pivotal v mounted upon the breast beam, one end of said knock-ofi' lever engaging the shipper 15 and the opposite end lying in position to be actuated b v the usual automatic stoi mechanism.

i s is well known, the feeler may be utilized either to effect the stoppage of the loom by causing the engagement of the knock-off lever with a movable member placed in the iath of a vibrating actuator, or may be utiized to cause the automatic replenishment of the shuttle upon the substantial exhaustion of the filling in the shuttle. In either rase the operation is usually initiated through a control er having arms 1T and 18 extending from a hub 1f) by means of which, it is pivotally supporti-.d upon a stud l0 projecting laterally from a suitable stand 2l which may be mounted upon the breast beam or upon the shipper stand.

As illustrated herein the ieeler mechanism is adapted to cause the automatic replenishment of the shuttle and the arm l? of the controller extends beneath the end of a hitch .2'2 which is pivotally mounted at its opposite end upon an arm .23 projecting upwardlv from the controller shaft l0, said latch .2'2 being adapted to be raised by the arm 1T of the controller into the path of a vibratin 1 actuator 2.4. which desirably may be the weft hammer.

The loom thus` far described, is of the usual construction and the arm 1T of the controllingr lever is ordinarily raised to initiate the action of the transfer mechanism byy the depression of the opposite end 1S of the controller.

In the usual feeler mechanism of the Northrop loom the feeiei' engages the filling on the filling carrier upon the forward movement of the lay and is thrust outward Hin llo

in such a manner that the controller-is not operated so long as a predetermined amount, usually a specially wound bunch of filling remains upon the carrier. If however the yarn upon the filling carrier is exhausted elow said predetermined amount a hunter pivotally supported upon the feeler contacts with the side of the `shuttle box and thereby causes the actuation of means for depressing the end of the controller arm 18 as the la y beats up so that the controller arm 1T is forced upwardly and the change of the operation of the loom effected. .ln the usual form of feeler, the bunter is carried by the feeler and moves with the sinne upon each forward movement of the lay, the bunter being engaged by the shuttle box only when the filling 'is substantially exhausted.

he principal eature of this invention com )rises broadly, an oscillatory and reciprocalile actuator connected both with a feeler, ada ted to enter the shuttle and feel upon the fi lin carrier therein and with the limiter adapte to be engaged by the shuttle box oi' other mechanism carrie( by the lay or moved in synchronism therewith, the connections between the feeler and bunter and the actuator being such that the contact of the filling with the fceler will cause the oscillation of the actuator out of operative relation to the controller while the actuation of the bunter alone will result in the ieciprocation of the actuator and the consequint movement of the controller as aforesai In the mechanism illustrated lieiein the feeler mechanism comprises a stan which preferably is provided with a slot 2G by means of which it may be secured to the end of the breast beam or shipper stand 13, by bolts or other suitable fastenings, said stand having a forward extension 27 which desirably may be provided with a cap plate 28, `said forward extension or stand iaving cylindrical apertures or grooves adapted to receive and to form bearings for the stem 2f) of the bunter B0 and for the feeler 31 so that the bunter and fecler will have direct parallel reciprocatory movements when enaged res iectively by the side of the shuttle iiox and tie filling upon the fillin f carrier. 'lhe forward extension 27 of the fee er stand is desirably provided with a lateral flange 32 in front of which the end of the controller 18 rests. The feeler and the bunter are each independently connected to an oscillatory and reciprocable actuator 83 which is provided with an extension normally resting a aiiist the flange 3L. and thereby positionet to engage the end of the controller arm 18, whereby the reeiprocation of the actuator will depress the controller arm 18 to initiate the action of the transfer mechanism or to efl'ect such other chan e in the operation of the loom as may be ound desirable .while the oscillatory movement of said actuator will remove it from operative relation to the end ot' the controller arm 18 so long as the filling on the filling carrier is not substantially exhausted.

The actuator desirably may be pivotally supported at its lower end upon a stud extending laterally from the end of the arin -ll of a bell crank lever which is pivotally mounted upon a stud 23T carried by an cxtension 23S of the `stand the other arm 3f) of the said bell crank lever bein f pro vided with a stud lll engaging a sot Lf1 in a block 1'2 rigidly secured upon a stein 21) of the bunter 250. lt will be obvious that by reason of the construction aforesaid the actuation ot the bunter alone will cause the bell crank lever to rock about its pivot 3T cari-ving downward the stud 35 upon which tht` ower end of the actuator 33 is pivoted, thereby depressing thc end l-f of the actuator and with it the end of' the. arm of' the controller 1H, and initiating a change in the operation of the looni.

In order to provide for thc removal of the actiiiitor 'i from operative relation to the end of' the controller arm during the normal running of' the loom, the. feeler :il desirably may hc provided with the doiviiwardly and upwardlv bent end portion ill, providing a .slot -l-l adapted to receive a stud -li'i projecting laterallv from the actuator substantially in line with the feedcr81. The actuator 231i and the bell crank lever may be held in, and returned to feeling position by means of suitable springs siichas coiled springs M3. -f'i' surrounding respectively the pivots of the actuator and the bell crank ever and `suitably connected thereto and to relatively stationary members.

liy reason of' the construction aforesaid, it will be apparent that when the feeler is cngaged by the filling upon the filling carrier as the lav beats up the actautor will be oscillated either previously to or simultaneously with the engagement of the bunter with the shuttle box so that the end 2li of the actuator will f'ollow an arcuate path away from the flange 312 and out of operation relative to the arni 18 of the controller, thus during the norniul operation of the looin providiiig means which will avoid thc possibility of an improper transfer or other change in thc operation of the loom. Upon exhaustion of filling in the filling carrier the feeler B1 will enter the slot '(5 in the filling carrier and will not be retracted bv the forward movement of the lay. Tlire bunter 30 will then alone be engaged and will cause the rcciproeation of the actuator 3B to initiate the transfer or other change in the oieration of the loom in the manner aforesai It will be obvious that the f'ccler above fm described may be incorporated in any of the Q ordinary t pes of Northrop loom or may be substitute readil for the usual type of Northrop eeler, t us adapting the loom to be o erated with bobbins having slotted barre s.

It is to be understood that the embodiment of the invention disclosed herein is illustrative merely and that various modifications thereof may be made within the 1o scope of my invention as defined by the claims herein.

Havin fully described my invention what I cliiim as new and desire to obtain by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a loom having means for causing a change in the operation of the loom upon substantial exhaustion of filling in an active shuttle including a controller, an oscillatoryl and reciprocable actuator therefor, a 2o feeler, means connecting said fceler to said actuator adapted to oscillate said actuator from operative relation to said controller when tie feeler is engaged by the filling in the shuttle, and means in ependent of zo said feeler connected to said actuator adapted to reciprocate said actuator upon detection bv the feeler of substantial exhaustion of filling and thereby to actuate said controller.

:i 9.. In an automatic loom having means for causing a change in the operation of the loom upon substantial exhaustion of filling in an active shuttle including a controller, a laterally oscillatory and vertically recip- :io rocable actuator operatively mounted adjacent to said controller and adapted in its reeiproeutory movement to engage and actuate said controller and upon its oscillatory movement to be removed from operative re- Ile lation to said controller, a feeler connected to said actuator adapted to impin e upon and be moved bv the filling wit in the shuttle and thereby to impart oscillatory movement to said actuator, a bunter adapted to engage the shuttle box and means for causing the same to impart a reci )rocatory movement to said actuator and thereby to actuate said controller upon detection by the fecler of substantial exhaustion of the 5u filling.

3. n an automatic filling replcnishing loom having means for cansino' a change in the operation of the loom inclilding a controller, a spring-controlled oscillatory and so reciprocable actuator for said controler, a hunter adapted to engage the shuttle box upon each orward movement of the lay, a feeler adapted to engage the filling in the shuttle and independent means connecting ce said bunter and said feeler to said actuator whereby the simultaneous enga ement of the bunter and feeler will cause tie oscillation of the actuator out of operative relation to said bimter, while engagement of the bunter alone upon detection by the feeler of substantial exhaustion of filling, will cause reciprocatory movement of said actuator to operate said controller.

4. In an automatic filling replenishing loom rovided with filling carriers having slotte barrels and having means for causing` a change in the operation of the loom includin 7 a controller, a bell crank lever, an oscillatory and reciprocable actuator pivotally mounted upon one arm of the bell crank lever, a bunter adapted to engage the shuttle box upon the forward movement of the lay connected to the other arm of said bell crank lever, a feeler connected to said actuator adapted to enter the shuttle and impinge upon and be moved by the filling therein and thereby to oscillate the actuator out of operative relation to said con trollcr, but adapted to enter the slot in the filling carrier upon substantial exhaustion of the filling, whereby said actuator will be rcciprocated by the bunter to actuate said controller.

5. In an automatic filling replenishing loom having means for causixn1r a change in the operation of the loom including a controller, fecler mechanism comprising a feeler and a bunter slidably mounted in parallel bearings in a suitable supporting stand, an oscillatory and reciproeable actuator, and independent means connecting said actuator to said feeler and said bunter whereby the simultaneous actuation of the feeler and bunter will cause the removal of said actuator from operative relation to said controller and the actuation of the bunter alone will cause reciprocatory movement of said actuator to actuate the controller substantiallv as described.

(5. A feeler for un automatic replenishing loom comprising a stand and means for scouring the same to the loom, a bell crank lever mounted in said stand, an actuator mounted upon one arm of said bell crank lever, a bunter connected to the other arm of said bell crank lever, a feeler connected to said actuator and means for maintaining said bunter and said fecler in advanced or feeling position comprisin helical swings engaging respectively suivi bell cranli and said actuator and anchored to relatively stationary members.

ln testimony whereof, l have signed my name to the specification, iu the presence of two subscribingr witnesses.

HENRY lV. YOUNGQUIST.

Witnesses:

F. L. CLARKE, Dass A. Emana.

Clopin of this patent may be obtained for ha cents auch, by addressing the Commissioner of Patenti, Washington, D. 0."

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